Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wednesday Weird, The Lead Mask Case

Yay! Back for another installment of Wednesday Weirds. I have to say, I really like this series. It's really fun for me to write and research and I hope you guys kind of like it too. At the very least, maybe you've gotten some weird ideas for novels or something.

It's been awhile since we've done an unsolved death so today we're going to chat about the Lead Masks Case.

In 1966, a man in Brazil was flying a kite and came upon the bodies of two engineers lying next to each other in the grass. The men were dressed in fancy suits and raincoats. There was an empty water bottle beside them and two towels and there were no signs of violence.

Kinda weird, right? But not too crazy?

Did I forget to mention the masks? *scans previous paragraph* Yes. Yes I did.

Besides their suits and coats, the men also wore lead masks, the type used to protect against radiation.

So the police came and all that junk, the two men were identified as local technicians and the Police set about to recreate their day before they were found dead on a hill.

So the men buy their raincoats and go to a bar to buy bottled water. One of the men appeared rather nervous, and when they left the bar they went to the hill then dopped dead. Case closed?

No. Of course not.

A notebook was found at the scene stating:

16:30 be at the agreed place.

18:30 swallow capsules, after effect protect metals wait for the mask sign
OK so they swallowed "capsules," which is what killed them, yeah? The problem is the note seems to imply they were waiting for something to happen after the capsules took effect, which would mean if they were poison, the guys didn't know it. Also, the men had a coupon to return the water bottle when they were finished with whatever they were doing, which also seems to imply they didn't plan on dying on that hill.

Toxicology tests could not be taken due to the victims' organs not being properly preserved.

So, what convinced them to go to a hill, strap on radiation protection and swallow some capsules? What effect were they waiting for? What were the masks protecting them from? Was there some third party who convinced them to do all of this?

Let's hear some of your theories! Because I really got nothing other than "they were tricked".

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Really weird. Sounds like a capsule to simulate the effects of radiation poisoning ... though that wouldn't explain the masks and whatnot, since they wouldn't need protection from anything external.

That's a humdinger.

mshatch said...

Yes, I'd like to know what they expected to happen and better yet, what might've happened if it did and they didn't die? Interesting, and definitely weird!

Maria Zannini said...

They sound delusional that they could be so easily manipulated to try something like this.

It's one thing if they came up with this scheme, but it would be sad if someone else talked them into it.

Anne Gallagher said...

Do-dee do-do. Sounds like a Jim Jones kind of thing. Take these capsules and you'll meet God. Or aliens or something.

You're right, this is great fodder for a story.

Austin Gorton said...

Wow, this might be the best one of these yet (and I do really enjoy them).

When in doubt, I go with government conspiracy. I wonder what the government in Brazil in 1966 was like. Could they have been doing some kind of nuclear/atomic experiments of whoch these two were either willingly or unwillingly a part?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Maybe they thought they would transform into Iron Man or some superhero?

Slamdunk said...

Hmmm. Maybe they knew I was riding my bicycle to work that day and would forget my hat. The protective suits would be for the sun reflecting off my bald head and the pills were supposed to relax them...

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I think they were on the hill waiting for the UFO masters to come and whisk them away.

Nate Wilson said...

Oh, I get it. And it's all because of the two towels.

Although this happened 12 years before Hitchhiker's Guide, the two engineers must have already figured out you need to carry a towel when planning intergalactic travel. Clearly the bottle actually held salt water. And as best I can figure, they died because, before they could board a ship, they were forced to listen to Vogon poetry.

Johanna Garth said...

It makes me wonder if they were part of a cult.

DL Hammons said...

That's another great installment! And I'm like you, this is a wonderful series!! :)

Rena said...

Okay, I've got an idea, but it's just crazy talk:

Right, so the men bought these major hallucinogenics, probably sold to them as something to get them in touch with god. The only problem is, in Brazil there are stories about the ancient gods, and those guys are dangerous, so dangerous that looking at those gods could cause a mortal to be instantly fried to a crisp (hence the whole bowing thing). These guys wanted a conversation, and figuring that there are ways to protect a person from major doses of things like radiation went that route. Many people don't realize that radiation suits are more than just rain gear, so they bought rain coats but knew they needed actual lead masks.
They took the pills, which made them hallucinate, but instead of having the conversation they'd hoped for, they died of dehydration and overdose because the rain gear was so gosh darn hot...

Oh, and I love your Wednesday Weird posts. They are fantastic.

Anne Ahiers said...

ok
either Nate or Rena are correct- i can't decide which because both are fantastic

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